Normann Copenhagen funnel & strainer by Boje Estermann

Simple, practical AND collapsible, the collapsible funnel and colander from Boje Estermann take very little room once folded and they fit easily in a drawer.

Designer Boje Estermann was in his kitchen in need of a funnel. Boje had deliberately not bought one because they take a lot of space and are difficult to store. Nevertheless, a funnel is an important part of the daily household and the core problem for Boje was the lack of kitchen space combined with an inflexible shape. So he started to think of the various ways of designing a flexible tunnel when he suddenly thought of his old reflex camera, which had a soft sunscreen, which folded out like an accordeon when the sun was too strong.

The unique quality of the sunscreen was clearly that it took only space when in use....the seed to the collapsible funnel was sown.
Boje met with Normann Copenhagen and in co-operation with engineers, all parties developed this special soft material - flexible enough to fold together, hard enough to keep its shape and durable enough to take the cold, hot as well as the repetition of folding the funnel. The end product speaks for itself....the collapsible funnel by Boje Ostermann has won the Good Design 2005, Formland and Redhot Design Award.

The birth of the collapsible strainer follows.....As Boje explains: ' one day, I was in my kitchen trying to find a space for my big and clumpsy strainer. Its size and form made it difficult and suddently I thought of the collapsible funnel I had already designed for Normann Copenhagen.

It was evident, almost obvious to design a strainer that only takes place when in use. The strainer is a tool we almost use every day and a tool that most people find difficult to store.We have succeeded in developing a product that has a big volume, is hard enough to resist the weight of pasta or fresh cooked potatoes but still with the ability to flex and fold so it can be stored away in a drawer.
(c) pics from Normann Copenhagen. To buy, click here